


underneath the veil

by Misty_Reeyus



Category: Tales of Graces
Genre: Crack, Identity Reveal, M/M, Strip Tease, Suggestive Themes, this is a shitpost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 05:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18005027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misty_Reeyus/pseuds/Misty_Reeyus
Summary: richard:i’m a morosexual. i’m attracted to morons and morons only.asbel:what’s with this mask of barona guy? and where’d richard go?richard:[taking off his costume] god you’re so fucking stupid





	underneath the veil

**Author's Note:**

> i don’t even fucking go here

They’ve been dating for several months when Richard decides to tell Asbel the truth.

It’s high time he did so, to be frank. The Mask of Barona was a role Richard greatly enjoyed performing, but given how very close he and Asbel have become lately, Richard ought not to keep secrets from him any longer. So the next time Richard visits Lhant Manor, he lets himself into Asbel’s room, dresses himself in his trademark costume, and sits upon Asbel’s bed in wait for when the lord returns from his political conference.

Asbel comes into the room about twenty minutes later, apparently rather spent. He doesn’t even notice the Mask of Barona’s presence as he immediately turns around to close his door, then lightly bangs his head against it. “Man,” he moans aloud to himself, “I’m beat.”

“In times of fatigue, turn to me!”

“Gah!” Asbel startles at the voice, instantly whirling back around. “What the—?! Oh, it’s you! The, uh…”

“The Mask of Barona!” Richard supplies, after Asbel spends several seconds struggling to remember the name.

“Yeah, that guy!” Asbel furrows his brow. “Hold it, how’d you get into my bedroom?”

With the spare key that Asbel gave Richard a long time ago, but Richard doesn’t say that. Instead, he dramatically brandishes his hand before him and shouts, unprompted, “I, the Mask of Barona, have come today to unmask myself before you!”

With that, Richard reaches up to the purple fabric veiling his face and yanks it off with a flourish. Shock lights up Asbel’s entire face, and Richard grins as he throws the strip of cloth to the side, because he isn’t done with this surprise just yet. Alongside the reveal, Richard has also planned a little game—one that they’ve played many times before, and that’s guaranteed to help Asbel relax and unwind after his long day.

Next, Richard undoes the scarf that’s wrapped around his head, and with his disguise fully discarded, he then moves on to the part of the game they’re both intimately familiar with. His cape, his outer jacket, his belt, his tunic—Richard removes them all from his person with slow, purposeful movements that are intently followed by heterochromatic eyes. Soon, Asbel is actually bright red, even stammering, and it’s a bit odd that he’s this flustered when he’s seen Richard undress _plenty_ of times before, but that can likely be chalked up to Asbel still being unbalanced from having learned the Mask of Barona’s true identity.

Finally, Richard kicks off his boots and undoes his pants, letting them hit the floor so that he’s wearing nothing but his boxers. Having reached the end of his little show for now, Richard strikes a theatrical pose, more than happy to let Asbel’s gaze travel all over his naked skin.

“Oh wow,” Asbel murmurs, wide-eyed and definitely appreciative.

Richard chuckles, purposefully stepping forward and lowering his voice to a sultry drawl. “Like what you see?”

Asbel flushes even redder than Richard thought physically possible, and it’s so utterly adorable that Richard can’t help but rush in, swiftly closing the distance between them. Cupping Asbel’s cheek with his palm, he smiles flirtatiously and leans in to kiss him—but before their lips can make contact, Asbel abruptly jerks away.

“W-wait, I can’t do this!” Asbel cries, stretching his arms out in front of him in a clear gesture of refusal. Richard’s heart instantly pangs in dismay as he suddenly fears the worst—what if Asbel is mad at him, for keeping such a secret for so long?

“Look, I…I’m flattered, really,” Asbel babbles on, oblivious to Richard’s inner turmoil, “b-but I already have a boyfriend!”

Richard blinks. Then blinks again. Blinks a third time for good measure. “…Wait, what?”

Asbel rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry to surprise you. We’re private about it because we both have public images to keep, but we _are_ together, and I’m not about to cheat on him.”

Richard gapes, utterly gobsmacked. He thinks his brain actually stops working for a moment.

“You can easily find someone else, though!” Asbel hastily attempts to comfort him. “I mean, there’s any number of people who I’m sure would jump at the chance; you’re _very_ attractive beneath that mask. You actually look a lot like my boyfriend, come to think of it…”

Asbel brings his hand to his chin and adopts a thoughtful expression. Richard brings his hand to his forehead and sighs.

This is going to be harder than he thought.


End file.
